La Geste de Doon de Mayence dans ses manuscrits et dans ses versions
2015; Oxford University Press; Volume: 70; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1093/fs/knv235
ISSN1468-2931
Autores Tópico(s)Medieval European Literature and History
ResumoMedieval scholars are familiar with the classification of French epic material into three gestes, as articulated in Bertrand de Bar-sur-Aube's prologue to Girart de Vienne, and reiterated in the song of Doon de Mayence. Although these witnesses include the geste of Doon alongside those of the king(s) and Garin de Monglane, the coherence of the gestes as a cycle is open to question, as Dominique Boutet outlines in his brief Introduction. Individual works are linked principally by the thematics of revolt, as reflected in the modern (artificial) designation ‘cycle of rebellious barons'. Doon's lineage unites disparate heroes in an artificial genealogy found for the first time in the thirteenth-century song of Gaufrey. The existence of a small number of cyclical manuscripts, most notably Montpellier H247 (late fourteenth century), provides codicological justification for the grouping. This book — which constitutes sixteen essays, the proceedings of a colloquium sponsored by the Groupe de recherche sur l’épique (Paris IV) in May 2011 — focuses mainly on those works linked by manuscript evidence, and those whose heroes are explicitly connected to Doon de Mayence's lineage. Eschewing a purely thematic approach, the book's orientation is philological and codicological. The essays are grouped into three sections: firstly, the manuscript tradition and historical development of three principal works: Doon de Mayence, La Chevalerie Ogier and its continuations, and Renaut de Montauban; secondly, the study of specific manuscripts and cyclical perspectives; and thirdly, rewritings, including prose adaptations and compilations. Owing to the nature of the subject matter, the individual articles tend to be dense and highly detailed, and cover a wide range of texts and topics. The concluding essay by François Suard ties the collection's various strands together in a cogent reconsideration of the cyclical relationship between the epics in the loosely constructed geste. Suard aptly characterizes the Doon de Mayence grouping as a fluid epic cycle subject to diverse realizations, an ‘imaginary receptacle’ for those works located outside the parameters of the other cycles (p. 272). The volume concludes with a bibliography and index of proper names (medieval titles and medieval authors). The bibliography is devoted solely to cyclicity, manuscripts, versions, and history of the texts; works of literary analysis are excluded. Curiously, the list of works is neither alphabetized nor organized by date of publication. This volume will be of interest principally to specialists of the chanson de geste, but it will draw broader attention to a rather neglected group of texts as well as the complexities of medieval cycle formation.
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